Daniel Abraham

Isaac Salomon Jacob and Rebecca née Canetti

Isaac Salomon Jacob was born on March 24, 1871, in Ruschuk, Bulgaria, the son of Salomon Jakob and Rebecca Covo.

The January 20, 1911 issue of Die Welt, the official organ of the Zionist movement, listed "Isak Salomon Jakob from Ruschuk" as having made a donation for four olive trees. This indicates that Isak Salomon Jakob still resided in Ruschuk at the time. (The Bulgarian branch of the Zionist organization was then led by his nephew, Isak Avramoff (Isac Abraham))

Die Welt, 1911, issue 3 (January 20, 1911)

The only document related to Isak Salomon and Rebecca Jacob in the family archive is a power of attorney dating from the 1920s. Written in Bulgarian, it was probably drafted by a notary in Ruschuk to allow an unnamed party - presumably Moritz Abraham - to sign (or review) a mortgage agreement between Rebecca Jacob, and his brother, Isak Abramov, for one half of her house in Ruschuk.

Power of Attorney for mortgage, 1920s

POWER OF ATTORNEY

"I, Rebecca Isaac Salomon Jakob, from the city of Ruschuk, now living in Vienna, II, Prater Straße 34, floor IV, auhtorize [blank space for name] from [blank space for city]

- to conclude a mortgage agreement and a mortgage to Isaac M. Avramov from the city of Ruschuk, now living in the city of Berlin, 1 Tatsenuin street (possibly  Tauentzienstraße), my own half of the building in the city of Ruschuk, which I own in a deed # [blank space for deed number] issued by the Ruschuk Notary, 27 Evreiska street, now [called] David Street, plot #69 with neighbors: Merdohai Nesimov, heir of [blank space] (also on?) the Jewish street now "David";

- to appear before all persons, authorities and institutions and the Notary in the Kingdom of Bulgaria to fully accept the mortgage and sign all relevant papers, making this mortgage for 140,000 Leva equal to 5,200 Swiss Francs with 10% annual interest for 3 years starting from [blank] until [blank], to be paid every six months until the mortgage (is satisfied?)."

Although the draft doesn't have a date, the 1920s placeholder at the bottom of this document is an indication that she had left Bulgaria some time in the 1920s or earlier.

At the time this document was drafted, she lived in Vienna, in the second district, at 34 PraterStrasse, a multi-story rental apartment building.

The building being mortgaged, possibly the family's former home, was located at Evreiska ("Jewish") street #27, later renamed David street. David street was the central street of Ruschuk's Jewish neighborhood. The street still exists today, although the numbering scheme has changed, making it impossible to visualize where this house once stood on Google Maps.

Isaak Salomon Jacob's name appears for the first time in the 1924 issue of the Vienna address directory, placing his arrival in the Austrian capital in 1923. He lived and worked in Leopoldstadt, Vienna's second district. With Jews accounting for 38% of the population of the district, Leopoldstadt was known as Mazzesinsel ('Matzo Island').

Isaak Salomon was a commercial agent dealing in yarn, operating out of his office at Tempelgasse 4.

The couple lived at Praterstraße 34, in the Nestroyhof, a large Art Nouveau building which housed a theater, the Jüdische Künstlerspiele ("Jewish Artists' Theatre"). The building also had a second entrance at Tempelgasse 1, meaning that Isaak Salomon worked only steps away from his home.

34 Praterstrasse. 1920s or 1930s.

34 Praterstrasse, today.

At Tempelgasse 5, next to this secondary entrance of the Nestroyhof building, and right across from his office, was Leopoldstädter Tempel, Vienna's largest synagogue.

Leopoldstädter Tempel

Isaac Salomon Jacob's name appears in the Vienna directories from 1924 to 1931. His profession was listed as "Handelsagentur" - someone who represented manufacturers, wholesalers, or other businesses in selling or arranging sales—essentially a commercial/trade representative or agent. (His name appears interchangeably as Jacob and Jakob.)

Lehmann’s Vienna Directory, 1924

I. S. Jacob, Handelsagentur, II/1 Tempelg. 4,
Wohn(nung) II/1 Praterstr. 34

The 1925 directory was more specific, showing that his occupation was related to the yarn trade.

Lehmann’s Vienna Directory, 1925

Yarn (businesses)
Jakob I.S. II. Tempelg. 4

Lehmann’s Vienna Directory, 1925

Jakob I. S., Garnhdl. (yarn merchant)
Wohn(nung) II/1 Praterstr. 34

Starting in 1928, his profession was listed under a more generic term "Agentur" ("agency"). It is not clear whether it means that his activity was not limited to the yarn business.

Lehmann’s Vienna Directory, 1929

Isaak Salomon Jacob, Agentur, II/1 Tempelg. 4,
Wohn(nung) II/1 Praterstr. 34

Isaak Salomon Jakob died on December 8, 1930, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Legal notices regarding his inheritance were published in several issues of the Wiener Zeitung in March 1931.

Wiener Zeitung, March 17, 1931.

Isaak Salomon Jakob, merchant, Vienna, 2nd district, Praterstraße 34/20a, under the jurisdiction of Corfu, Greece, died on December 8, 1930, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

No will was found. All heirs, legatees, and creditors who are Austrian citizens or foreign nationals residing in Austria are requested to register their claims to the estate with the undersigned court by May 5, 1931. Otherwise, the estate may be released to the foreign authority or a person designated by it, without regard to these claims.

The heirs residing in Austria have requested that the probate proceedings be conducted by the Austrian court.

Foreign heirs and legatees are requested to register their claims within the specified period and to indicate whether they wish to have their claims assigned to the foreign authority. Otherwise, unless the foreign authority itself requests the assignment, the proceedings will continue here, and only with those heirs who come forward.

District Court Leopoldstadt, Division 1, Vienna, March 3, 1931.

Although born in Ruschuk, he was at the time of his death under the jurisdiction of Corfu in Greece. Although it could indicate that one of his ancestor was originally from Greece, it se more likely that he somehow acquired some form of legal protection. Why and how this happened is not clear, but it presumably happened after WW1. (Nationality seems to have been quite flexible in the family. At least two of his nephews, Moritz Abraham, Haim Abraham, also born in Ruschuk, became a Spanish citizen in the 1920s. Haim even claimed in 1928 to have been born in Athens.)

This notice implies that his wife Rebecca had died before Isaac Salomon. In addition, the mention of "heirs residing in Austria" suggests that the couple had children in Vienna.

In 1932 and 1933, a commercial agent named Salomon Jakob was still listed as residing at Praterstrasse 34. It is unclear whether this was a relative, or a clerical carryover.